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Good to be here Positive aspects of the Heads of the Valleys
Acknowledgments
The Bevan Foundation gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance of the Welsh Assembly
Government, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council,
Caerphilly Teaching Local Health Board and Tydfil Training Ltd., and an anonymous individual.
The views in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the
funders nor are they necessarily the views of the Bevan Foundation’s Trustees or members.
About the Bevan Foundation
The Bevan Foundation supports social justice in Wales through research, discussion
and publications. Our work helps to set and inform the public policy agenda in Wales,
particularly on poverty and social exclusion.
We are independent of government, political parties or interest groups. Membership is open to
individuals, third sector organizations, businesses and government bodies.
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The Bevan Foundation
Innovation Centre
Festival Drive
Ebbw Vale
Blaenau Gwent
NP23 8XA
Tel: 01495 356702 info@bevanfoundation.org www.bevanfoundation.org
ISBN 978-1-904767-36-7
Report Author: Victoria Winckler
2 Date: 4th June 2009
The Bevan Foundation is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity no. 1104191
Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1
1. INTRODUCTION 5
2. ENVIRONMENT 7
3. ECONOMY AND EMPLOYMENT 14
4. LEARNING AND SKILLS 20
5. HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE 25
6. QUALITY OF LIFE 34
7. CONCLUSION 42
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3
Executive summary
1. The Heads of the Valleys is best known for poverty and disadvantage. However there are
many positive aspects of the area that are much less well known. This report uses
independent evidence to identify the good features.
2. Highlighting the positive characteristics does not undermine the importance of tackling the
area’s continuing problems. Importantly, it can help ensure public policy is fully informed.
3. The environment emerges as a major asset. The countryside and access to it, air and water
quality, and aspects of the local environment are all first class.
4. The economy and labour market have key strengths too. There are successful, innovative
and award-winning businesses, and a substantial number of employees in a wide range of
occupations, some of them comfortably off.
5. The workforce has many skills to offer. A substantial proportion of the population is highly
qualified, and every year several thousand school leavers move into higher education.
Schools are, in a number of important ways, better than those in other parts of south east
Wales, which is reflected in the many awards won.
6. Health and social care services face heavy demands but on a number of criteria offer
better care than their counterparts in other parts of Wales. These too have been
recognized by independent bodies.
7. The Heads of the Valleys offer a good quality of life. It has a unique culture and heritage,
an increasingly vibrant contemporary arts scene, and distinctive and affordable housing.
Community life is strong and relatively safe.
8. Public policy needs to make the most of these positive features to build a successful and
prosperous region. This must be at the same time as tackling poverty and disadvantage -
both approaches are vital to the prosperity of the area.
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4
View of Tylorstown
PHOTO : BARRY NEEDLE
1 Introduction
Barely a week seems to go by without a headline proclaiming that Merthyr Tydfil has the
lowest level of some desirable socio-economic feature or that Blaenau Gwent has the highest
level of some undesirable attribute. The headlines are indeed correct that the Heads of the
Valleys consistently come top of league tables of all kinds of social and economic problems,
from economic inactivity to teenage pregnancy, from ill-health to young people not in
education, employment or training. But the headlines are also very wrong. Because alongside
the deep-seated and very serious problems in the area, there are also some very strong and
positive features. To many people’s surprise, there are in fact many good aspects of life in the
Heads of the Valleys.
The pernicious drip of negative news and sorry statistics has contributed to a very powerful
image of the Heads of the Valleys as deprived, disadvantaged and declining. The Heads of the
Valleys in general, and Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent in particular, have become
synonymous with poverty. Their problems are believed to be universal, all aspects of life are
believed to be substandard, and nothing good can ever be achieved.
This negative picture matters a great deal, because it damages efforts to regenerate the area
and dents the confidence of those who do live and work in the Heads of the Valleys. People
do not want to live, work, visit or invest in an area which they believe to be ‘poverty ridden’, a
‘sickness capital’ or ‘one of the ten worst places in Britain’, even though the Heads of the
Valleys might be the ideal location for their business or to pursue a career.
It also matters because the emphasis on the problems may mean that public policy does not
address the bigger picture. For example, there is undoubtedly a problem of few or no
qualifications amongst school leavers. However, there are also hundreds of school leavers with
excellent qualifications, who may well leave the area if there are not suitable jobs for them.
It is crucial to stress that highlighting the positive features does not cancel out or offset the
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problems, or somehow make socio-economic disadvantage more acceptable. They do not. The
problems of poverty and social exclusion remain and the need to address them is as pressing
as ever.
This paper
The aim of this report is to highlight some of the positive aspects of the Heads of the Valleys.
Importantly, the paper uses objective evidence to substantiate claims about positive features of
the Heads of the Valleys. It draws on various government statistics, inspection reports and
results from independent Wales- or GB-wide competitions, and consumer feedback. 5
Heads of the Valleys Area
We hope that the material included will encourage people to rethink their ideas about the
Heads of the Valleys, although it is not a marketing exercise. It should be a resource for policy
makers, opinion formers, journalists and politicians.
Lastly, it is important to stress that this report is emphatically not seeking to downplay the
problems of the area – they are very real and urgently need to be addressed. Indeed, we hope
that it contributes to efforts to regenerate the area by highlighting the potential for
development. Nor is it in any way an evaluation of the Heads of the Valleys programme or any
other regeneration initiative, nor a catalogue of all the initiatives in the area.
What we hope the report does achieve is a counter-balance to the negative stereotypes of the
area. In so doing, it may persuade people both within the area and elsewhere that it is not
such a bad place after all.
A Note on Geography
The Heads of the Valleys programme area is not matched by any local authority or other
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boundaries, which creates considerable problems gathering data. Some statistics for the
programme area were produced by the Welsh Assembly Government as baseline data for the
programme, but these are increasingly out of date and also mostly negative. The Welsh
Assembly Government has produced more up to date data for the Wales Spatial Plan Heads of
the Valleys area, but has wider geographical coverage than the programme area. These
sources have been used where they are the only data available. Otherwise, statistics have been
used for Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent, both of which are wholly within the Heads of the
Valleys area. However, these two authorities only comprise a proportion of the area’s
population, and do not include those parts of the programme area in Rhondda Cynon Taf,
6 Caerphilly or Torfaen.
2 Natural and
built environment
The environment is one of the few areas where it is generally acknowledged that the Heads
of the Valleys has improved considerably in recent years, not least through the large-scale
reclamation of coal tips and waste land and improvement of housing. Nevertheless, it is often
not appreciated just how good the environment of the Heads of the Valleys is today.
Natural Environment
The Heads of the Valleys area is dominated by its natural environment, which accounts for 87
per cent of land-use. About 35 per cent of land is semi-natural upland habitats, e.g. heath,
bracken and other grassland; about 19 per cent is improved grassland, and 17 per cent is
forested.1 The combination of natural and man-made features, geography and geology has
created a striking landscape. Not only is it deemed to be top of the Rough Guide to Wales’s
list of places to visit because it is ‘interesting and distinctive,2 it has also been described by
various commentators in glowing terms:
Majestic mountains, country parks, forests, waterfalls, natural and man-made
lakes contrast with the unique built environment to produce an intriguing
landscape
SouthernWales.com3
[an] amazing and diverse landscape
Dan Clayton Jones, Chairman Big Lottery Fund4
a unique, roller-coaster landscape of hills and vale
VisitBritain.com5
The Valleys of South Wales are … a special part of Wales, with unexpected
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beauty, their country parks and forests and their attractions.
OpenRoads.com6
The quality of the natural environment is such that there are relatively large numbers of
designated and protected sites. There are seventeen Sites of Special Scientific Interest and
twelve Special Areas of Conservation in the five local authorities. In addition there are four
local nature reserves in the Heads of the Valleys programme area, two national nature
reserves and the northern edge of the area is part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. A
number of protected species are found in the Heads of the Valleys, including the greater
7
crested newt, otter, bats, lapwing and marsh fritillary butterfly.
Access to the Countryside
The Heads of the Valleys has superb facilities for enjoying the
natural environment. As well as Dolygaer activity centre there is
also the new Summit Centre in Trelewis. The most popular
outdoor pursuits are cycling, walking and golf.
Cycling
Two long distance cycle routes pass through the programme
area. Lon Las Cymru, the north-south Wales route, follows the
Talybont Reservoir to Merthyr Tydfil then down the Taff Valley
via the Taff Trail to Cardiff. The Celtic Trail East-West route between Fishguard and Chepstow
passes through the programme area with a high level route running from Neath to Pontypridd.
In addition there are a number of local cycle routes, including:
• BMX track and pump track at Parc Bryn Bach, Tredegar
• Darran Valley Cycle Route – 7 km from Bargoed towards Fochriw via Parc Cwm Darran
• Aberbargoed to New Tredegar Cycle Route – 2 km from Aberbargoed north towards New
Tredegar
• Trevithick Trail – 9 km from Pentrebach to Abercynon
• The Loops and Links Network
These routes will be greatly enhanced by the ‘Valleys Cycle Network’ which will provide a
network of 500 miles of walking and cycling routes across the south Wales Valleys. Much of
the network will be in the Heads of the Valleys area, with new routes along the Cynon,
Rhymney, Sirhowy and Ebbw Valleys as well as links along the Heads of the Valleys. In addition
other routes are suggested by cycling websites and magazines.7 Cycle routes in the area have
attracted many positive comments as these quotes from a cycling website8 show:
‘wow what a ride, finished the Taff Trail from brecon to Cardiff Bay. We all
stopped a few times but a good day out for all.’
Dai Llewellyn, 17th April 2007, Taff Trail guest book
‘Did Brecon to cardiff yesterday with my mate all in 1 day. We both agreed its
probably the best ride we've had in ages’
Dave, 6th August 2006, Taff Trail guest book
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what a beautiful ride :)
Zoot, 4th August 2006, Taff Trail Guest Book
Walking
The Heads of the Valleys has an extensive network of public rights of way, offering both short,
local walks as well as challenging mountain and moorland walks. Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau
Gwent together have nearly 400 km of rights of way, with further substantial networks in the
8 Cynon Valley, Rhymney Valley and northern part of Torfaen. Members of the public judged
100 percent of the rights of way in Blaenau Gwent as easy to use, with over 85 per cent being
easy to use in Caerphilly and Merthyr Tydfil. In comparison, only 19 per cent were easy to use
in Carmarthenshire.
All local authorities in the area have produced leaflets suggesting attractive local, relatively
short-distance, walks based on rights of way, as has the Groundwork Links and Loops project.
Local authorities and community groups offer programmes of guided walks and there is also
an annual walking festival. Routes are also suggested by walking groups and websites.
Some of the rights of way in the Heads of the Valleys have been named and sign-posted as
long or medium distance paths, and in addition many of the cycle routes referred to above are
also suitable for walking. A selection of medium and long distance routes is shown in Table 1.
It is worth noting that details about these walks are not easy to find.
Table 1 Medium Distance Footpaths
Northern Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk
12 miles Nelson to Rhymney
Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk
28 miles Caerphilly to Tredegar
Raven Walk
12 mile circular route above the Sirhowy and Ebbw valleys.
Ebbw Valley Walk
16 miles from Wattsville to Ebbw Vale
Sirhowy Valley Walk
26 miles from Newport to Mynydd Machen and Mynydd Manmoel, Tredegar
The Coed Morgannwg Way
36 miles from Margam Park to Merthyr via Dare Valley Country Park
The Sea to Sky Walk
16 miles from Dare Valley Country Park to Bryngarw Country Park
Golf
The Heads of the Valleys baseline report9 identified ten golf courses in the area serving both
members and visitors, seven of which are 18 hole and three 9 hole. Almost all are upland courses,
offering spectacular views, challenging sport and a warm welcome. Below are some extracts from
reviews of courses in the areas published on www.golfeurope.com – an independent and
international site.
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Merthyr Tydfil – Morlais Golf Course
Quite simply the most under-rated courses in Wales – and yet one of the cheapest to
play. Situated in the foothills of the Brecon Beacons National Park, the views from the
first fairway are stunning and are a foretaste of the enjoyment to come. … there's a
genuine ruined castle, a massive quarry, a shepherd who comes out to get his sheep
off the course most mornings, a fabulous clubhouse and, best of all, some of the
friendliest, most down-to-earth people you will ever meet on a golf course. Pure
enjoyment and it's all as cheap as chips. 9
diapers1927 Jul 23, 2004 http://www.golfeurope.com/clubs/morlais_castle/index.htm
Merthyr Tydfil Cilsanws Golf Course
Merthyr tydfil golf course is one of the best i have played.
The views are stunning, the atmosphere welcoming, the
members very helpful. It is worth a go.
steve jackson Apr 22, 2004
http://www.golfeurope.com/clubs/merthyr_tydfll/#comments-leave-
a-comment-link
Bargoed Golf Club
Bargoed Golf Club is a challenging moorland course affected by prevailing weather
conditions. It's a good test of golf and a pleasurable experience for all levels of golfer
Matthew Smith wrote on: Jul 1, 1999
http://www.golfeurope.com/clubs/bargoed/index.htm
Air and Water Quality
Independent studies have shown that the overall quality of air and water in the Heads of the
Valleys is well above that which might be expected. Air quality in the area is generally good:
none of the area’s local authorities has found that air quality is unlikely to meet National Air
Quality Strategy objectives and so no Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) have been
declared in the Heads of the Valleys/10 This contrasts with the seven authorities that have
declared AQMAs in other parts of Wales.11
The Heads of the Valleys area includes an extensive river network, much of which is of good
quality according to water quality data collected by the Environment Agency.12 The entire river
network of Merthyr Tydfil, Blaenau Gwent and Caerphilly is of good or fair biological quality as
is the entire network in Merthyr Tydfil and Caerphilly for chemical quality.13
Accompanying this excellent water quality are efforts to improve the bio-diversity of the river
environment, e.g. through introduction of new fish stocks. For this type of work in the Cynon
Valley, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council was a finalist in The Waterways Trust’s Renaissance award
2009, whilst in Merthyr Tydfil a new fish pass has been constructed to encourage salmon to
make their way upstream.
Waste Disposal and Polluting Sites
The environment is also strikingly good in terms of waste and pollution, as shown in Table 2. A
very much smaller proportion of the population lives within 3 km of all kinds of regulated sites
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than the Welsh average, with just half the proportion of people living within 3km of such sites
in the Heads of the Valleys than in the City Coastal Zone. Even though the area includes several
landfill sites (at Trecatti, Merthyr Tydfil; Silent Valley, Blaenau Gwent; and Bryn Pica, Rhondda
Cynon Taf) only a very slightly higher proportion of the wider Heads of the Valleys population
lives within 3km of a landfill or incinerator site than the all-Wales average (0.1 percentage
points). Most promising of all, the Welsh Assembly Government’s ‘distance and risk weighted
proximity index’, which provides a measure of household proximity to all sites taking account of
risk, shows the Heads of the Valleys area to have a much lower score than Wales as a whole
and the City Coastal Zone.
10Table 2 Proximity of Waste and Other Regulated Sites, 2008
Heads of City Coastal Wales
the Valleys Zone (a)
Proportion of population living within 3km 20.0 (a) 39.6 29.8
of all polluting sites (landfill, incinerator,
other waste, non-waste sites subject to
IPPC control, radioactive sites) and within
1km of sewage treatment works
Proportion of population living within 3km 8.8 (a) 8.7 7.2
of landfill or incinerator site
Distance and risk weighted proximity index 0.350 (a) 1.052 0.652
Recycling rate 2003/04 17.6 (b) n/a 17.6
Notes: (a) Spatial Plan Area (b) Programme Area
Sources: Wales Spatial Plan data, Environment, South East Wales. Available at:
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/theme/spatial-plan/spatialplanareas/southeastwales/?a=0&lang=en except for Recycling
Rate 2003/04 from Welsh Assembly Government (2006) Turning Heads – A strategy for the Heads of the Valleys, Appendix
B Environmental, Social and Economic Baseline Report, available at
http://wales.gov.uk/docrepos/40382/4038231141/403821125/TransportPublications/565049/Annex_B.pdf?lang=en
Authorities in the Heads of the Valleys have performed particularly well in increasing the
proportion of household waste that is recycled, so that by 2003/04 the recycling rate for the
area stood at the Welsh average. Since then, recycling rates have broadly followed the Welsh
trend.14 Local authorities’ and community groups’ work to promote recycling has been
recognized in a number of awards which are shown in Table 3.
Local environment
Evidence suggests that in many respects the local environment in the Heads of the Valleys is
at least as good as, and is sometimes better than, the all-Wales average. Local authorities’
performance in keeping highways and other land at a good or acceptable standard of
cleanliness is generally good in the Heads of the Valleys, with 99.7 per cent of highways etc
being of such a standard in Torfaen as were 99 per cent in Merthyr Tydfil in 2007/08.15 A
survey by Keep Wales Tidy16 found that town centre streets in Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau
Gwent had better scores on its ‘Cleanliness Index’ than the Welsh average, as did streets in
Merthyr Tydfil’s high density residential areas. Merthyr Tydfil was also found to have a lower
than average proportion of streets affected by graffiti, vandalism, fly-posting and weeds. Local
authorities and community groups in the Heads of the Valleys have won a wide range of
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awards for work to improve the local environment, as shown in Table 3.
Carbon Footprint
For a number of reasons,17 two local authorities in the Heads of the Valleys have the smallest
carbon footprints per capita in the UK. Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent were both in the
lowest ten authorities for carbon emissions related to transport, consumer items and food.18
11Table 3 Selected Award Winners for Local Environmental and Waste Projects
Let’s Recycle.com Award Best Local Authority Recycling Initiative 2006
Finalists - Rhondda Cynon Taf CBC
International Green Heroes Award 2008
Winner - Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Streetcare Awareness Team
Tidy Wales Trophy 2008
Winner - Cwmcelyn Tenants and Residents Association, Blaenau Gwent
3rd place – Pantyscallog Boys and Girls Club, Merthyr Tydfil
Keep Wales Tidy Best Clean-up Events 2004
Winner - Lime Chapel Residents Association, Blaenau Gwent
Keep Wales Tidy Innovation Award 2004
Winner - ‘Fly Guys’, Blaenau Gwent
Keep Wales Tidy Award for Woodland Improvement 2008
Winner - Cwmaman Woodlands Company, Cynon Valley
Keep Wales Tidy Award for Community Groups 2008
Winner - Tre-Telynog Environmental Group, Aberdare
Cylch Wales Recycling Awards Community Recycler of the Year 2008
Winner - TooGoodToWaste, Rhondda Cynon Taf
Shortlisted - Green Horizons, Merthyr Tydfil
Cylch Wales Recycling Awards Local Authority Partnership Award 2007
Runner up - Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council
Conclusion
The Heads of the Valleys has an excellent quality natural environment. Not only is air and
water quality generally better than other parts of Wales and the overall risks from regulated
sites generally lower, but the quality of countryside and landscape is also increasingly
recognized whilst access to it, via footpaths and cycle paths, is second to none. That this
environmental quality has been achieved after centuries of damage by industry and extraction
is all the more remarkable.
These features are without doubt a very
considerable strength of the area, which can
be enjoyed by residents and visitors alike. They
should be actively promoted. As such an
important, and hard-won, feature of the area,
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environmental quality must also surely be
protected.
12Footnotes
1 The remaining natural land uses include semi-improved neutral grassland; amenity grass land; lakes, ponds and
reservoirs and ‘other’ uses. Derived from Welsh Assembly Government (2006) Turning Heads – A strategy for the
Heads of the Valleys, Appendix B Environmental, Social and Economic Baseline Report, available at
http://wales.gov.uk/docrepos/40382/4038231141/403821125/TransportPublications/565049/Annex_B.pdf?lang=en
2 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/5111766.stm
3 http://www.southernwales.com/en/valleys2.php
4 BBC News, ‘Amazing landscape’s lottery aid’, 27th October 2008, available at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/7691795.stm
5 http://www.visitbritain.co.uk/destinations/wales/the-valleys-of-south-wales.aspx
6 http://www.openroads.com/south-wales-valleys.html
7 For example http://www.cycle-route.com/routes/Wales-Cycle-Routes-4.html and
http://www.moredirt.co.uk/region_trails.php?id=14
8 http://www.tafftrail.org.uk/trailpage.php?guestbook
9 Welsh Assembly Government (2006) Turning Heads – A strategy for the Heads of the Valleys, Appendix B
Environmental, Social and Economic Baseline Report, available at
http://wales.gov.uk/docrepos/40382/4038231141/403821125/TransportPublications/565049/Annex_B.pdf?lang=en
10 Welsh Assembly Government (2006) Turning Heads – A strategy for the Heads of the Valleys, Appendix B
Environmental, Social and Economic Baseline Report, available at
http://wales.gov.uk/docrepos/40382/4038231141/403821125/TransportPublications/565049/Annex_B.pdf?lang=en
11 Welsh Air Quality Forum, Air Pollution in Wales 2007, available at: http://www.welshairquality.co.uk/index.php
12 Welsh Assembly Government (2006) Turning Heads – A strategy for the Heads of the Valleys, Appendix B
Environmental, Social and Economic Baseline Report, available at
http://wales.gov.uk/docrepos/40382/4038231141/403821125/TransportPublications/565049/Annex_B.pdf?lang=en
13 ibid.
14 Local Government Data Unit Wales (2008) Quality of Life Indicators available at
http://www.dataunitwales.gov.uk/Data.asp?cat=285
15 Local Government Data Unit Wales (2008) Local Authority Performance Indicators Data, Street Scene, 2007-08,
Available at: http://dissemination.dataunitwales.gov.uk/webview/index.jsp?language=en
16 Keep Wales Tidy (2008) All Wales LEAMS report 2007-2008, Cardiff: Keep Wales Tidy
17 Including low levels of car ownership
18 Local Futures Group, Carbon Footprint Barometer 2008, Available at:
http://www.localfutures.com/Standalone/LFN_Update_Barometer_November_2008/default.aspx
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133 Economy
and employment
It is for its poor economy and labour market that the Heads of the Valleys is perhaps most infamous,
earning epithets such as ‘benefits blackspot’,19 ‘poverty ridden’,20 and worse.
The Heads of the Valleys has unquestionably suffered from decades of economic change, which have
left high levels of economic inactivity and unemployment, a relatively small stock of local businesses,
and relatively few high earners. But within the economy of the area, there are still success stories – two
thirds of people of working age are working, it is by no means the worst paid area in Wales, and there
are signs of business growth and success.
Economic activity and employment
The economic activity rate in the Heads of the Valleys is undoubtedly low, as is an equally telling statistic
– the employment rate. In 2007, the total employment rate in the Heads of the Valleys area was 64 per
cent, the lowest in Wales.21 Nevertheless, this low rate means that about two-thirds of the population
of working age is in employment. In September 2008 there were a total of 52,100 people in
employment (full-time and part-time) in Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent alone. This number of
employees and self-employed counters the image that very few people in the Heads of the Valleys are
working.
It is also worth looking at employment in more depth, because the picture is more complex than first
appears (Table 4 gives full statistics). Most importantly, the area’s low employment rate is due largely to
the high proportion of people aged 50 to retirement who are not working. The employment rate for
over 50s is below the Welsh average in all Heads of the Valleys authorities, and is very substantially
lower in Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent. In contrast, the area’s employment ‘problem’
had all but vanished (in mid 2008) amongst younger people. Most strikingly, the employment rate for
people aged 16 - 49 in Merthyr Tydfil is in fact higher than the Welsh average, and the same is true in
Rhondda Cynon Taf. In Blaenau Gwent, and to a lesser extent Caerphilly and Torfaen, the employment
rate for younger people remains below average but, lower though it may be, it is worth noting that
around three-quarters of this age group are nevertheless working.
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Occupational Structure
Those people who do have jobs in the Heads of the Valleys are often characterized as being in routine
and manual occupations. Statistics confirm that the Heads of the Valleys area does have a slightly higher
proportion of the workforce in sales, operative and elementary occupations (Table 5). However, this is
only part of the picture. More than a quarter of employees in the area have a professional, technical or
managerial job. Altogether there are nearly 16,000 people in professional, technical or managerial jobs
in Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent alone,22 whose occupations range from Chief Executives to
Professors to GPs to managers and senior police officers.
14Table 4 Employment by Age Group, June 2008
Individual Local Authorities
Blaenau Merthyr Caerphilly Rhondda Torfaen Wales
Gwent Tydfil Cynon Taf
Number of people 31,300 24,800 77,100 106,100 39,300 1,311,400
aged 16 - 49
Number of people 24,800 20,100 59,000 85,400 30,300 1,034,800
aged 16 - 49 in
employment
Employment Rate 74.4 81.0 76.5 80.5 77.1 78.9
age 16-49 (%)
Number of people 10,400 8,900 27,300 36,400 15,000 477,100
aged 50 - retirement
Number of people 6,300 5,100 14,800 22,500 9,600 320,700
aged 50 - retirement
Employment Rate 60.5 57.3 54.2 61.8 64.0 67.2
age 50 -
retirement (%)
Source: Annual Population Survey, via NOMIS
Table 5 Occupational Structure, 2007
Percentage of employed persons in Heads of Wales
Occupational Groups the Valleys
Managerial, Professional and Technical Occupations 28.3 38.3
(groups 1 to 3)
Administrative, Skilled Trades and Personal Service 35.2 32.6
(groups 4 to 6)
Sales and customer service, process, plant and 36.6 29.1
machine operatives and elementary occupations
(groups 7 to 9)
Notes: a) Spatial Plan area
Sources: Wales Spatial Plan data, Economy and Labour Market, Heads of the Valleys. Available at:
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/theme/spatial-plan/spatialplanareas/southeastwales/?a=0&lang=en
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Pay and income
Accompanying the Heads of the Valleys’ reputation for worklessness is its reputation for poverty. It is true
that the area has both a lower average income per head than other parts of Wales, partly because of the
higher proportion of people receiving out-of-work benefits such as Incapacity Benefit but also because the
earnings of those who are in employment are typically lower than the Wales median (Table 6).
But, as before, it is important to qualify these findings. First, although earnings are below the Welsh
average, residents of the heads of the valleys are by no means the lowest paid in Wales. Table 6 shows
that just over 30 per cent of employees in Blaenau Gwent and 26 per cent in Merthyr Tydfil earned less
15
than £7 an hour, but in Pembrokeshire the proportion is nearly 40 per cent and in Denbighshire nearly 35per cent.23
Second, figures on average or median earnings hide the proportion of Heads of the Valleys employees
with relatively high incomes. Contrary to the picture of poverty painted by commentators, more than a
quarter of all full time workers in the Heads of the Valleys enjoyed a relatively comfortable salary of over
£28,000 a year in 2008. Taken with relatively lower housing costs in the area, this suggests that at least
some people in the Heads of the Valleys enjoy a reasonably prosperous lifestyle.
Indeed, the earnings of Heads of the Valleys residents amount, collectively, to a considerable sum. If the
mean income for full timers in Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent is multiplied by the number of full time
workers in the two areas, there is a total of approximately £800 million a year being earned in the area
by full timers in these two authorities alone (see Table 2). The figure would be even higher if the incomes
of residents in the Heads of the Valleys part of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Caerphilly and Torfaen were added,
along with the earnings of part timers.
Table 6 Earnings, 2008
Blaenau Merthyr Heads of the Wales (a)
Gwent (a) Tydfil (a) Valleys (b)
Median gross weekly earnings of full £362.2 £418.1 £377 £425.3
time employees (2008)
Proportion of all employees earning less 30% 26% n/a n/a
than £7 per hour (2006-2008)
Gross weekly earnings of upper quartile £526.4 £587.7 £544 £600
(level which 25% earn more than) 2008
Mean gross weekly earnings full time £428.4 £474.6 £460 £506.7
employees incl. overtime 2008
Number of full time jobs 18,000 16,000 n/a n/a
Total income from earnings £400m £395m n/a n/a
Notes: all data is residence based
Sources: (a) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2008 via Nomis
(b): Wales Spatial Plan data, Economy and Labour Market, Heads of the Valleys. Available at:
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/theme/spatial-plan/spatialplanareas/southeastwales/?a=0&lang=en
(c) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2006-8 via http://www.poverty.org.uk/w53/index.shtml?3
Businesses and enterprise
Despite many high profile business closures over recent years, a substantial number of businesses
continue to be based in the Heads of the Valleys. In 2008, there were more than 4,000 businesses in the
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wider Heads of the Valleys area, covering a range of different activities from food and clothing
manufacturers, to engineering businesses and call centres, retailing and restaurants. Indeed, services
were the largest businesses in terms of both numbers of establishments (79 per cent of businesses) and
the proportion of employment (60 per cent of jobs).24
Small businesses are important in the Heads of the Valleys as elsewhere - just under two thirds of
businesses in the wider area had fewer than 9 employees, and a further fifth were medium sized
businesses (with 10 – 249 employees). The share of jobs provided by small firms was very much smaller:
business with fewer than 9 employees accounted for just 7,600 jobs (16.3 per cent of the total), whilst
16 large firms were the most important, accounting for 21,540 jobs – nearly half (46.1 per cent) of all
employment.The Heads of the Valleys has a reputation for lacking an enterprise culture. This perception is, partly,
supported by statistics on the number of businesses per head of population, which is amongst the
lowest in the UK, and by the area’s poor showing on indicators of general competitiveness (which
include measures such as educational attainment).25 However evidence on recent business performance
suggests this is changing.
A composite enterprise index26 that combines the new business formation rate, the overall change in the
stock of businesses over the last 10 years and business survival rates, compiled for all local authority
areas in the UK in 2006, shows that Merthyr Tydfil was the best performing local authority in Wales, and
amongst the top performing 20 percent of areas in England and Wales.
This conclusion is reinforced by data on the number of businesses registering for VAT. Over the period
1998-2007 the number of VAT registered businesses increased by 21 per cent, twice the rate of
increase in Wales as a whole. Altogether 2,370 businesses were newly registered for VAT during 1994-
2007.27
Business Performance
The perception of the Heads of the Valleys as an area of low value and poor business performance is
also challenged by the record of a number of businesses which have won awards for various aspects of
their business. Table 7 sets out a selection of awards won by Heads of the Valleys businesses in recent
years (environmental awards are shown separately) Only awards given in all Wales or GB-wide
competitions are included here (local and Heads of the Valleys-wide awards have not been included)
demonstrating that Heads of the Valleys businesses can win against the strongest competition.
Heads of the Valleys businesses have also performed well on various aspects of environmental
management and sustainability, with a strong showing from Heads of the Valleys employers in the
various Wales Sustainability Awards (formerly Wales Environment Awards) over the years, as shown in
Table 8.
Table 7 Selected Business Awards
Impress Merthyr Tydfil
2008 - Winner five star Health and Safety Audit Award
2007 - Winner British Safety Council Sword of Honour for Excellence in Health
and Safety
Tectonic International
Winner - Welsh Exporter of the Year Award
Winner - Welsh Award for Export Achievement
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Winner - Made for Growth Business Award.
Royvon Dog Training School, Merthyr Tydfil
2005 - Short listed for Wales Information Communications Technology award.
2005 - Co-finalist Technology Wales
2005 - (TWO5) Information Communications Technology “Entrepreneur of the
Year” award.
2005 - Second Place in Sunday Times Enterprise Network Award for Best End-
to-End Integrated Business and Best Customer Care on Line
2007 - Short listed for two Technology for Marketing Awards, short listed for
Judges Special Award for Best Integrated Marketing Technology
Campaign, and Winner of Best Use of CRM Solution for SMEs 17Table 7 Selected Business Awards (continued)
Stephens & George, Merthyr Tydfil
2008 - Business Magazine Printer of the year Highly Commended
The Fresh Pasta Company, Merthyr Tydfil
2008 - Winner of four of the Guild of Fine Foods Gold Star Great Taste Awards for its
products
Rhymney Brewery, Merthyr Tydfil
2008/09 - True Taste of Wales Awards for Pie and a Pint, Export Ale and Reserve Winner
2007 - Champion Beer of Wales Winner
2008 - Camra Bronze Award Mild Ale Category
2008 - Camra Gold Award Strong Ale Category
2008 - Labologist’s Society Annual Competition 1st Place for Commemorative Label of
the Year for Hobby Horse;
2007 - Labologist’s Society Annual Competition 1st Place for Commemorative Label of
the Year for Bevan’s Bitter
2008 - All Wales Open Bottle Competition Bronze Winner for Hobby Horse
2006 - Waitrose Small Producer of the Year
Robert Bates, Clarks Shoes Merthyr Tydfil
2005 - Franchisee of the Year Awards Highly Commended
J&S Seddon Painting, Merthyr Tydfil
2008 - Special Award for Excellence by the Painting and Decorating Association (PDA)
Penn Pharma
2008 - Insider Venture Capital Dealmaker Award
Blaenavon Cheddar Company, Blaenavon
2008 - Winner of Bronze Medal at the British cheese awards for its Pwll Mawr cheddar.
Table 8 Wales Environment / Sustainability Awards
Doncasters Blaenavon
2007 - Climate change and energy award winner
Penn Pharmaceutical Services
2006 - Overall Winner, Wales Environment Awards
2005 - Environmental Management System Award for companies with 50 employees
or more finalist
Visqueen Building Products Ltd, Rhymney
2005 - Waste Minimisation Best Practice Award for companies with fewer than 50
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employees finalist
2004 - Environmental Management System Award for companies with 50 employees
or more finalist
Excel Industries Ltd, Ebbw Vale
2004 - Award for Most Improved Export Performance for an Environment Product or
Service finalist
Biozyme Laboratories Ltd, Blaenavon
2004 - Business and Biodiversity Award finalist
18Conclusion
There is no doubt that there are acute economic and labour market problems in the Heads of the Valleys,
and it has not been the intention of this section to argue otherwise. But, it is also important that these
problems do not overshadow the many very positive features of the Heads of the Valleys economy and
labour market. This section has demonstrated that there is a small but vibrant business community that
has excelled against national competition, with small but significant new business starts. There is a
substantial workforce, which includes professionals and managerial staff as well as skilled trades people,
some of whom earn reasonable salaries, generating a considerable disposable income.
It is vitally important that these success stories are not ignored, for they contain the seeds of future
growth and resources for the future.
Footnotes
19 Abby Alford, Valleys town is top benefits blackspot, Western Mail, April 21st 2008
20 Martin Shipton, ‘Years of grant aid – but the Valleys still poverty ridden’ South Wales Echo, August 19th 2008
21 Wales Spatial Plan Economy and Labour Market Summary, Heads of the Valleys. Available at:
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/theme/spatial-plan/spatialplanareas/southeastwales/?a=0&lang=en
22 Annual Population Survey data, via NOMIS
23 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2006-2008 published on http://www.poverty.org.uk/w53/index.shtml?3
24 Wales Spatial Plan data, Economy and Labour Market, Heads of the Valleys. Available at:
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/theme/spatial-plan/spatialplanareas/southeastwales/?a=0&lang=en
25 uggins, R. and Izushi, I. (2008) UK Competitiveness Index, University of Wales Institute, Cardiff Centre for International
Competitiveness
26 Local Futures, State of the Nation 2006: Business and Enterprise, Available at:
http://www.localfutures.com/Assets/1596/enterprise%20barometer.pdf
27 VAT registration data, via NOMIS, for Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent.
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194 Learning
and skills
As in previous sections, at first sight the Heads of the Valleys has levels of qualifications in the workforce
and educational attainment amongst school leavers that are below those of the rest of Wales. However,
it is important to stress that the statistics show that only a proportion of the population have few or no
qualifications – they do not say that everyone is unqualified.
Qualifications
The figures on qualifications held by the wider population and achieved by school leavers do not make
for good news, in either the Heads of the Valleys or Wales as a whole. Nevertheless, as Table 9 shows, a
proportion of its population does have good qualifications. In 2007 more than 1 in 3 of the population
were qualified at NVQ level 3 or above and more than 1 in 6 were qualified to NVQ level 4 or above.28
Similarly, although it is important not to deny that the percentage of school pupils in wider Heads of the
Valleys area achieving core subject indicators is below the rate for Wales as a whole at all key stages,
there is, nevertheless, a substantial proportion which does achieve these standards. Three-quarters of
pupils achieved the core indicators at Key Stage 1 (end of year 2), more than two-thirds did so at Key
Stage 2 (end year 6), and just over half achieved them at Key Stage 3 (end year 9).29
At post-16 level, more than seven out of ten year 11 pupils in Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent
continue in full-time education. In addition, a very high proportion goes on to work based learning, the
highest proportion in Wales. At year 13, more than half of leavers in these two authorities went on to
higher education. Although this is below the all-Wales proportion, it nevertheless meant that there were
312 school pupils from these two authorities alone entering higher education in 2008.30 Altogether there
were more than 3,500 undergraduates and postgraduates from Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent
studying at UK higher education establishments in 2006/07.31 This number of post-16 learners is an
extremely important resource for the future, whose potential should be maximized.
Schools
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Many schools in the Heads of the Valleys have a reputation for poor quality, which, as will be shown
below, is undeserved. Using a broad range of indicators, schools in the Heads of the Valleys emerge as at
least as good as, and in some ways better than, schools elsewhere in south east Wales.
Quality of education
Inspections provide a very useful insight into the quality of education in Heads of the Valleys schools.
Recent inspection reports32 give each school a grade on each of seven ‘key questions’ which cover the
crucial issues of how well learners achieve and how effective are teaching, training and assessment. The
questions also cover how well the learning experience meets the needs and interests of learners and the
20
wider community, the effectiveness of leadership and management, learner support and guidance, use ofTable 9 Selected Indicators of Education and Qualifications
Heads of the Blaenau Merthyr Wales
Valleys Gwent Tydfil
Proportion of the population with 35.9% 33.0% 47.1%
qualifications at NVQ level 3 or above
(2007) (a)
Proportion of the population with 16.7% 17.9% 27.2%
qualifications at NVQ level 4 or above
(2007) (a)
Proportion achieving core indicators
(2007/08) at: (b)
Key Stage 1 75.5 80.7
Key Stage 2 70.6 75.5
Key Stage 3 51.0 59.6
Key Stage 4 33.3 44.4
Destination of Year 11 school leavers
(2008) (c)
Continuing in full time 75.5% 73.0% 79.2%
education (school and college)
Entering Work-based learning 9.2% 11.7% 6.7%
Proportion of Year 13 school leavers 60.1% 55.1% 79.7
continuing in higher education (2008) (d)
Enrolments on higher education 20006/7
(full-time and part-time):
Undergraduate 1,485 1,625 88,210
Postgraduate 245 235 18,465
Sources:
a) Stats Wales Table 003357 Qualification levels of working age adults by NQF level, local authority and NUTS2 area
(b) Wales Spatial Plan data, Education, Heads of the Valleys. Available at: http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/theme/spatial-
plan/spatialplanareas/southeastwales/?a=0&lang=en
(c) Careers Wales (2008) Destination of School Leavers at Year Eleven by LEA, available at
http://www.careerswales.com/professionals/documentlibrary.asp?language=English
(d) Careers Wales (2008) Destination of School Leavers at Year Thirteen by LEA, available at
http://www.careerswales.com/professionals/documentlibrary.asp?language=English
resources and arrangements for improving quality.
The grades awarded are as follows:
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Grade 1 good with outstanding features
Grade 2 good features and no important shortcomings
Grade 3 good features outweigh shortcomings
Grade 4 some good features, but shortcomings in important areas
Grade 5 many important shortcomings
Altogether there are 17 secondary schools in the Heads of the Valleys programme area which have had
recent inspection reports (a list of the schools included is at Annex A). The findings from inspections
suggest that more schools in the Heads of the Valleys are good with outstanding features or good with
no important shortcomings on the key questions of learner achievement and the effectiveness of 21
teaching than in Cardiff or Newport. Table 10 shows that 12 Heads of the Valleys schools received agrade 1 or 2 on the key question of ‘how well do learners achieve?’, compared with only six out of
thirteen schools in Cardiff and just one out of five schools in Newport. On the question of the
effectiveness of teaching, 15 out of 17 Heads of the Valleys schools received a grade 1 or 2, compared
with 11 out of 13 in Cardiff and one out of five in Newport.
One school (Treorchy Comprehensive) received a grade one on every single key question, the same as
Cardiff High School and St Joseph’s R.C. High School in Newport. At the other end of the scale, no
schools in the Heads of the Valleys programme area received a grade 4 (‘some good features but
shortcomings in important areas’) on any of the key questions. Both Cardiff and Newport had one school
which received a grade 4 on one or more key questions.
Table 10 School Inspection grades
Percentage of employed persons in Heads of Cardiff Newport
Occupational Groups the Valleys
Number of schools* 17 13 5
Number achieving grade 1 or 2 on how well 12 6 1
learners achieve
Number achieving grade 1 or 2 on how effective 14 11 1
are teaching, training and assessment
Number achieving a grade 1 on all key questions 1 1 1
Number of schools with 4 on any key question 0 1 1
* For which an inspection report is available which summarises findings in this format
Unauthorised Absence
Unauthorised absence at all levels of education is an important issue. Primary schools in the wider Heads of
the Valleys have very slightly lower levels of unauthorized absence than those in the city coastal zone.33
However the figures for individual local authorities are even better: the absence rates for Merthyr Tydfil and
Blaenau Gwent were both substantially lower than Cardiff and Newport.34 The same pattern is evident at
secondary level, with the difference between Merthyr Tydfil and Cardiff being particularly striking.35
Table 11 Unauthorized Absence Rates, 2008
Heads of Blaenau Merthyr City Coastal Cardiff Newport Wales
the Valleys Gwent Tydfil Zone
(2006/07) (2007/08) (2007/08) (2006/07) (2007/08) 2007/08) (2006/07)
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Primary School 1.4 0.6 1.0 1.5 1.7 1.4 0.9
unauthorized
absence rates
Secondary school 2.4 2.2 1.8 2.5 3.3 2.0 1.9
unauthorized
absence rates
Sources:
Welsh Assembly Government (2009) Absenteeism from Primary Schools 2007/08, SDR 21/2009 Available at:
http://wales.gov.uk/docs/statistics/2009/090217sdr212009en.pdf?lang=en
22 Welsh Assembly Government (2008) Absenteeism from Secondary Schools 2007/08, SDR 170/2008 Available at:
http://new.wales.gov.uk/statsdocs/schools/sdr170-2008.pdfAwards and Accolades
The achievements of schools, colleges and other bodies providing training have been recognized in a
number of awards which are shown in Table 12. These are all Wales-wide or GB-wide awards, which
provide independent recognition of the contribution of learning establishments in the Heads of the
Valleys. Personal achievements e.g. of students are not included here.
Table 12 Selected Awards for Education and Learning
Caedraw Primary School, Merthyr Tydfil
ICT Excellence Awards 2007 - Inclusion (primary) - Runner-up
Pontlottyn Primary School, Mrs. Karen Wathan
BT Award for Teacher of the Year in a Primary School 2008 - Distinction
Blaenau Gwent CBC Educational Psychologist Michelle Mansell
2009 Incredible Years Awards for excellence
Blainau library adult literacy group
NIACE award for ‘coaching and mentoring’ 2009
Merthyr Tydfil College
Wales Training Award 2008 Winner
Fforwm Equality and Diversity Award Winner 2006
Runner Up, Fforwm Innovation Award 2006
Runner Up, Plugging Skills Gap in Industry Award 2007
Runner Up, Effective Partnership Working Award 2008
Winner, Engineering Week Wales Challenge 2007
Blaenau Gwent CBC Family Learning Programmes
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Inspire Adult Tutor and Mentor Awards Basic Skills Agency Award
Goetre Primary School, Merthyr Tydfil Mrs Denise Morgan
Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Award, 2009
Helping People into Jobs
Last but by no means least is the question of the transition to work. Despite a challenging labour market,
organisations in the Heads of the Valleys have won a number of awards for helping people from the area
into jobs. Table 13 sets out some of the awards won by organizations in the Heads of the Valleys 23
recently.Table 13 Awards for Helping People into Jobs
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council Youth Supported Employment Project
Association for public service excellence 2008 Best service team award - finalists
Social Care Accolade Learning about Caring, Caring about Learning Award 2007 -
winner
Rhondda Cynon Taf CBC Step in the Right Direction Project
Wales Training Award 2008 – Winner
Social Care Accolade 2007 – Winner
North Glamorgan NHS Trust
Remploy National Leading the Way Award 2006 for supporting people with disabilities
Merthyr Tydfil Institute for the Blind (MTIB)
Local Employment Partnership Awards 2008 Accolade for ‘Partnership Works’ –
Winner
Local Employment Partnership Awards 2008 Getting Back to Work award – runner up.
Conclusion
Despite the challenges, it is clear that there are considerable skills and talents in the population of the
Heads of the Valleys. There is a small but important pool of people with higher level qualifications already
living in the area. Each year, hundreds of school pupils achieve good GCSE grades and stay on in
education or move into work based learning. Each year, hundreds of pupils leave school and go on to
higher education, in Wales and elsewhere, and more than three thousand undergraduates and post
graduates have Merthyr or Blaenau Gwent as their home. Making the most of the skills people do have,
as well as tackling the problems of lack of qualifications, should be a high priority.
At school level, increasing proportions of school pupils are achieving core indicators at each Key Stage.
Crucially, inspection reports reveal that many Heads of the Valleys secondary schools are ‘good’ in terms
of achievement and the effectiveness of learning, and that there no schools with important
shortcomings. Indeed, in terms of Estyn’s findings, schools in the area compare favourably with those in
Cardiff and Newport. Given the challenges that Heads of the Valleys schools face, this is a considerable
achievement.
Footnotes
28 Stats Wales Table 003357 Qualification levels of working age adults by NQF level, local authority and NUTS2 area
29 Wales Spatial Plan data, Education, Heads of the Valleys. Available at:
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http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/theme/spatial-plan/spatialplanareas/southeastwales/?a=0&lang=en
30 Careers Wales Pupil Destinations 2008 year 13 LEA figures available at:
http://www.careerswales.com/professionals/documentlibrary.asp?language=English
31 Stats Wales Table 002383 Enrolments of Welsh domiciled students at UK Higher Education Institutes by level and
mode of study http://www.statswales.wales.gov.uk/TableViewer/tableView.aspx?ReportId=2383
32 Inspection reports before 2004 do not specifically award grades to each key question.
33 Wales Spatial Plan data, Education, Heads of the Valleys. Available at:
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/theme/spatialplan/spatialplanareas/southeastwales/?a=0&lang=en
34 Welsh Assembly Government (2009) Absenteeism from Primary Schools 2007/08, SDR 21/2009 Available at:
http://wales.gov.uk/docs/statistics/2009/090217sdr212009en.pdf?lang=en
24 35 Welsh Assembly Government (2008) Absenteeism from Secondary Schools 2007/08, SDR 170/2008 Available at:
http://new.wales.gov.uk/statsdocs/schools/sdr170-2008.pdf5 Health
and health care
Introduction
The Heads of the Valleys has a reputation for the poor health of its residents, being described as ‘the
sickness capital’ of Wales,36 the ‘sickest place in Britain’,37 ‘top of the poorly table’, ‘Europe’s sick
relation’38 and many others. Whilst in some ways the general health of the population of the Heads of
the Valleys is poorer than that of other parts of Wales, this is not to say that everyone is ill. Moreover, the
health and social care services emerge as being at least as good, if not better, than those in several other
parts of Wales.
General Health and Lifestyle
There is no doubt that the Heads of the Valleys has higher levels of ill health than the all-Wales average,
both in terms of general health and in terms of the prevalence of particular conditions. But it is worth
looking at the picture more carefully and critically. Although the figures on ill health are relatively higher
in the Heads of the Valleys than elsewhere, they do not mean that everyone in area is sick. So, whilst 32
per cent of the population in Blaenau Gwent report having a limiting long term illness,39 by far the
majority of the population – 68 per cent – does not have such an illness. Similarly, around 80 per cent of
the population in the Heads of the Valleys do not have high blood pressure, 90 per cent do not have a
heart condition, and so on. This change in emphasis to health, rather than illness, is vitally important to
the perception of the area.
Given the prevalence of poor health, there have been a number of health improvement initiatives over
the years. Participation in physical activity in the area has been well below the norm for other parts of
Wales.40 However, the Welsh Health Survey for 2005/07 indicates that the proportion of adults who
report meeting physical activity guidelines is slightly above the Welsh figure in Merthyr Tydfil (at 32 per
cent compared with 30 per cent) and is barely below it in Blaenau Gwent (at 29 per cent). Indeed a
smaller proportion of adults meet the recommended guidelines in Cardiff, Newport and Swansea than in
Merthyr.
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Local authorities and others have won awards for their efforts to encourage physical activity in these
areas, as shown in Table 14.
Health and Social Care
At the time that the Heads of the Valleys Programme was launched, there was 1 district general hospital
located in the area, several other community hospitals and a number of GP practices.41 The figures have
changed slightly since 2004 with changes in the provision of both primary and secondary care.
25
Some commentators have highlighted the challenges faced by health care providers in the Heads of theTable 14 Awards for Physical Activity Promotion
Merthyr Tydfil 'Heartlinks' project
British Heart Foundation UK Excellence Award 2007, Winner
World Best Practice example for Promoting Physical Activity
National Leadership and Innovation Agency for Healthcare (Wales) prize
Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council’s Leisure Services Division
The Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management (ILAM) Award 2006
Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council ‘Green Gym’ project
Winner of the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers award
Valleys, and point to some aspects of services that are below average. However, whilst primary and
secondary care clearly has to meet the needs of the local population and some services may have not been
the very best, this is not to say that all services at all times are poor.
Primary care
Primary care in the Heads of the Valleys has attracted particular concern, for example because of the age
of General Practitioners in the area and the proportion of single-handed practices.42 However, there are
many other ways in which primary care in the area is at least as good as the Welsh average, and is
sometimes better.
First of all, the Heads of the Valleys area appears to have a slightly higher number of GPs in relation to its
population – 6.3 whole time equivalents per 10,000 people compared with 6.1 for Wales as a whole.43
This is reflected in the average list size per GP in local authorities in the area, which is around the same as
the national average in Merthyr Tydfil, Blaenau Gwent and Caerphilly, and below average In Torfaen.44
Second, it also appears that quality of primary care services is broadly comparable with those elsewhere in
Wales. The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) provides a crude measure of quality of care, although
it is a system of financial incentives which rewards good practice.45 The proportion of GP practices which
achieved 950 points or more in the 2007/08 Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) was around the
Welsh average across most of the Heads of the Valleys. In total, nine practices in Merthyr Tydfil, fifteen
practices in Blaenau Gwent, eight in the part of Caerphilly which lies in the Heads of the Valleys
programme area and two in the part of Torfaen in the Heads of the Valleys area achieved 950 points or
more.46 Unfortunately fewer achieved this threshold in the Heads of the Valleys part of Rhondda Cynon Taf.
The number of QOF points received by a practice in part reflects local circumstances, such as the social
and demographic characteristics of the population, so the achievement of over 950 points by so many
practices is particularly noteworthy. The figures are summarized in Table 15.
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NHS dental services in the Heads of the Valleys have received much less attention, yet are an important
component of overall health. A higher proportion of patients across the Wales Spatial Plan Heads of the
Valleys area reported that they had been treated by an NHS dentist in the last 24 months (59 per cent
compared with 54 per cent).47 Data for individual local authority areas for adults shows similar results.48
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